


Shadow of Doubt

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Another one of my fics where you wouldn't actually know what happened to it, Fluff, Gen, References to Depression, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25356736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: In which Leon is never truly alone in life.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Shadow of Doubt

A warm breeze snuck into the room, playing with pieces of papers and flicking pens off of the desk. It extinguished the candles around the room, throwing aside the office blinds.

Leon smiled, eyes sparkling as he stared up at the nebulas.

A comet flew by.

“Can I talk to you?” 

Startling for a moment, Leon nodded. He watched as Ash leaned against his desk, basking in the starlight. “I’ve seldom seen the city lights all darkened before. Only once,” Leon said, glancing at Ash.

“It’ll happen again,” Ash said, holding a hand towards the sky. “It isn’t a bad thing, you know?”

Leon stared at Ash. “...Maybe in the future.”

A supernova of hope erupted within Ash’s chest. Leon grinned, shielding his eyes as Ash beamed. “Come sailing down the milky way after me, will you?”

Leaning back in his chair, Leon sighed. “It’s inevitable.”

Ash’s grin wavered for a moment. 

“You two have been doing great, really.” Twirling his pen, Leon shrugged. Ash nudged aside a stack of papers before sitting on the desk. “Thank you.”

“It’s mainly Hop.”

“Don’t discredit yourself. It could not have been in better hands.” 

“...You trust me too much.”

“But you want it nonetheless.” 

Leon laughed. “Thank you, Ash.” 

Ash grinned back at him. 

_ They could have taken the world by storm together. _

_ Instead, the storm drowned them.  _

Leon felt a wave of sadness crash against him. 

_ A presence loomed over.  _

Ash glanced behind them. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, fine. Just… tired.” 

_ Empty. Yet overflowing. Breaking. Sinking.  _

“Even now, huh?” Ash scooted closer to Leon, eyes twinkling. “You haven’t been taking care of yourself.”

Leon turned around. There was no one else.

_ So why was he drowning? _

“It’s fine.” Leon rubbed his temples. “It doesn’t matter.”

_ He just needed to survive. He had to. For everyone else’s sake. _

“It matters to your brother- yeah your brother.” Ash stared up at the stars. “I care too. Whatever this is. And I’m gonna help in whatever way I can!” He grinned, eyes glowing. “You know that, right?”

_ The presence was weighing him down. Further. And further. And further… _

“Listen, Ash, it’s the dead of night. I’m not going to do anything. I can’t.”

Ash interlocked his fingers. “...Who am I to stop you?” Leon sighed. Ash scanned his palms before rubbing them together. “What else can I say?”

“...I guess.” Leon forced a grin. “I know you don’t really ‘need sleep’, but-”

“Unlike you?”

Leon stared back at Ash. “...Sleep is for the weak.” Before Ash could say anything, Leon grabbed a stack of papers and headed out the room.

Ash stayed by his side.

“Where are you going?”

“I thought you wanted me to take care of myself?”

Twirling around Leon, Ash crossed his arms. “Don’t twist my words like that.” His tone softened. “I can tell you don’t want to sleep now. Something in particular keeping you up?”

“...Just restless.”

“I get that.”

Leon stopped. 

_ He understood. Of course he did.  _

_ Why didn’t he realize? _

The stars gleamed through the windows.

“But…” Leon peeked out of the corner of his eye. “It’s a happy moment, you know?” He turned to face Ash, forcing a grin. “Everything worked out, it’s a beautiful night, and we’re-” His grin faltered.

“Alive?” Ash tilted his head. “You’re not wrong.”

“But-” 

Ash shook his head.

They both stared up at the inky sky. 

Side-eying Leon, Ash mumbled, “The stars are never stable.” Ash lit the way out the door, nodding to Leon. 

“They’re also lonely.”

There was a pang of pity in Ash’s eyes. “The stars don’t shine alone.”

Leon stared down at his papers. 

The darkness still threatened to swallow him whole. Why?  _ Why _ ? How did it get so bad? How much more…?

“You can’t fix it.”

“And I won’t.” Ash gestured back to Leon’s office. “That won’t either.”

Leon gulped, glancing behind him. 

_ The presence is still there. It’ll always be there. _

_ But… Ash too. _

Ash stared into Leon’s eyes. They shined like shattered beer bottles. 

“You’ve done enough.”

“I couldn’t concentrate.”

“You still did the best you could. Take a break.”

Leon hugged his stack of papers closer to himself, frowning. “I…”

“It’s only temporary, Lee.”

Ash then disappeared.

But… he wasn’t gone. 

_ He never was. _

Taking a deep breath, Leon smiled at the stars. 

**Author's Note:**

> Very loosely based on the song Find Me by Kings of Leon!
> 
> How has everyone been doing? I hope well, if not alright!


End file.
